Storms of Life

On his 1986 debut, Randy Travis brought that buttery baritone of his to a batch of timeless-sounding new tunes that could just as easily have been recorded 25 years earlier, renewing listeners' faith in classic country musical values. On neo-trad standards-in-the-making, like the marriage-minded anti-cheating song "On the Other Hand," the hard-living lament "The Storms of Life," and the steady-rolling ode to the roadhouse life "There'll Always Be a Honky Tonk Somewhere," Travis embodies the emotional intensity inherent in early country themes.